US Flag-Bearer Erin Hamlin Misses Out On A Medal In Luge

Matthew Hunt |Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Utica's Erin Hamlin named Olympic flag bearer for Team USA

The decision came down to a coin toss between Hamlin and speedskater Shani Davis, the first black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual Winter Olympic event. Roberts said that she has met Hamlin and that she personally shows it off by showing the pictures she has taken with her.

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - Erin Hamlin finished sixth in her fourth and final Olympics, the best of the three American women in the race. At just 27-years-old, Hamlin made history when she took home the singles bronze medal in the Sochi's 2014 Winter Olympics.

The women's luge competition at this year's Winter Games is scheduled to start February 12, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Hamlin earned a bronze medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics which broke a 34-year streak of the podium being occupied exclusively by German and Austrian women. "Finally getting another flag on that podium opened the floodgates a little bit", Hamlin said.

"All the athletes around me, all the spectators here in the stadium, and all Olympic fans watching around the world: We are all touched by this wonderful gesture", said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. The U.S. already won one medal in the luge thanks to Chris Mazdzer winning the first medal in U.S. history in men's singles.

Officials said she had now reached the epitome of being an Olympian. "It was a process that was decided over a year ago, how it would be decided", she told Reuters. "She's here all the time with us".

It comes after luge slider Erin Hamlin was selected ahead of him for the role at Friday's opening ceremony. That run vaulted her from 15th to ninth.

"Shani, you're one hell of an athlete and more than qualified to be the flag bearer", replied one user. They want to invite other moms to join to tweet about their experiences, but no one remembers the password.

She then called her family, who were about to start their long flight to South Korea. By 2005, she was competing in her first world championships.

"We didn't know it would all lead to this - never in a million years", Eilleen said.